County Executive Kathleen Falk has put forth a vision statement for land use in
Dane County Wisconsin (Design Dane!) that calls for the innovative use of spatial information technologies to assist the county, its communities, and its citizens in guiding and managing growth in the County. Dane County intends to engage its citizens in land use planning processes by providing citizen input opportunities and providing broader access to relevant data and information in understandable forms. In addition, Dane County has been designated by Vice-President Al Gore as a Community Demonstration Project, in support of the development of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure as described by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.
The Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility (LICGF) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides research, training, and outreach in the use of land and geographic information systems, with a special focus on land records modernization, land and natural resource management applications, and the use of information for land-use decision-making. LICGF is interested in helping Dane County staff evaluate new and emerging land information technologies and in developing new methods and approaches to incorporating citizen input into the community land use planning process. LICGF has actively supported recent land use activities, including participating in County Land Use Forums and seminars, and providing land use planning workshops and training for county staff, elected officials and citizens.
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) is a private corporation that develops and markets software and information solutions for managing and analyzing land information. ESRI has a history of successful collaboration with the LICGF, Dane County and federal agencies, and staff and expertise appropriate for Design Dane and Community Demonstration Project goals.
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) has funded some community demonstration projects to prototype the proposed Community-Federal Information Partnership program. Dane County has been designated by Vice President Gore as a pilot site. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been designated as the lead federal agency for the Dane County pilot. As participants in the federal governments "reinventing government" initiatives, FGDC and NRCS have committed to helping Dane County achieve success in its effort to use innovative information technologies to make Dane County a more livable community.